Venables Vibes: Oklahoma Emerges From the Bye Week Healthy and Focused

The No. 6-ranked Sooners used the off week to heal up at a few spots while working to improve off their imperfections from the first half of the regular season.

NORMAN — Oklahoma gets back to work on Saturday.

The No. 6-ranked Sooners will square off against UCF for the first time in program history, still riding the 34-30 victory over then-No. 3 Texas.

Brent Venables said his team used the bye week to heal up and correct some of the smaller mistakes still plaguing the team ahead of taking the field against Gus Malzahn’s Knights (3-3, 0-3 Big 12).

The contest will air on ABC at 11 a.m. Saturday, which is just another sign of the heightened interest in the Sooners after entering the College Football Playoff race with the victory over the Longhorns, but Venables has maintained the focus must stay present in the locker room to finish the back half of the regular season with the same success Oklahoma (6-0, 3-0) found through its first six games.

Injury Updates

Oklahoma cornerback Kani Walker is just one of a handful of defensive backs who are expected to return against UCF :: BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN-USA TODAY NETWORK

Coming out of the Cotton Bowl, the Sooners needed some time to heal back up.

Safety Key Lawrence had to finish out the win over Texas at cornerback, filling in after Gentry Williams exited the game and Kani Walker didn’t dress out.

OU accomplished its goal in the secondary, as Venables confirmed Williams, Walker and freshmen Makari Vickers and Jasaiah Wagoner would all be available this weekend during his weekly press conference on Tuesday.

Right guard McKade Mettauer is still rehabbing his sprained ankle, but Oklahoma will have a host of bodies available flanking center Andrew Raym to fill in at both left and right guard.

“It’s the same as what it was before when Cayden (Green) came in,” Venables said. “We’ve got (Caleb) Shaffer, we’ve got (Savion) Byrd, we’ve got Troy Everett. Those are kind of our guys and you’ll see all of them.”

Venables also said the training staff is “hopeful” to get running back Jovantae Barnes back for the back half of the regular season.

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Blocking the Noise

Linebacker Danny Stutsman and quarterback Dillon Gabriel have surged to the front of national award conversations after Oklahoma's victory over Texas :: Kevin Jairaj / USA TODAY Sports

Winning big games will focus college football’s spotlight squarely on the program.

Oklahoma is certainly no different.

Following the victory in the Red River Rivalry, both quarterback Dillon Gabriel and linebacker Danny Stutsman appeared on ESPN programming during the bye week.

OU’s social media team dropped a video on Twitter recapping the win that captured the imagination of Sooners fans, garnering over six million views in the first 24 hours of the video getting posted.

Between extra media requests and social media, it would have been hard for any members of Oklahoma’s locker room to escape the praise that came with the win.

But as players have become more reachable on social media, Venables doesn’t think it’s become any easier or harder to stay locked in with the message being preached by the coaching staff and OU’s veteran leaders as opposed to generations past.

“Distractions have always been there for young people,” Venables said. “The challenge has been there, really, since the beginning of time. You are on a college campus. To me, every year is different.

“It depends on your focus and the maturity of your football team and whether or not they can stay locked in and doing the boring, methodical things that it takes to be successful.”

Last week, Venables said the coaching staff showed the team a video cutup of the mistakes made on both sides of the ball against Texas, illustrating the progress that can still be made through the final six games of the regular season.

Beating the Longhorns didn’t change the message the coaches convey to the players each day on the practice field, but handling the success will be a test for the Sooners as they take the field again against UCF.

“My challenge to them is our structure and our routine has got to be our compass,” Venables said. “It's got to be a sanctuary for them in how you get ready. They've got to buy into that, not get bored with that and show up every day with a mindset of developing good habits. Habits don't establish themselves. In the most critical times, in the most strenuous situations on the football field, you have to fall back on your habits and your fundamentals.

“I believe our guys, they understand that, they believe that, they buy into that. We spend a lot of time trying to nurture that and promote that as well.”

Unlikely Hero

Oklahoma defensive tackle Jacob Lacey came up huge for the Sooners with a crucial sack of Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers in the fourth quarter.  :: Ricardo B. Brazziell / American-Statesman-USA TODAY NETWORK

Defensive lineman Jacob Lacey came up in a massive spot in the Cotton Bowl.

The Notre Dame transfer sacked Quinn Ewers as the Longhorns were driving to win the game, forcing Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian to settle for a field goal.

Lacey has been productive since returning to the lineup, but his 2023 availability was cast into serious doubt in the offseason.

He was diagnosed with blood clots, an injury that could have ended his football career.

“It’s scary, really scary,” Venables said. “Just thankful that under the circumstances he was diagnosed and went through the right protocols to get him healthy. Fortunately for him and for us from a football standpoint, it was the best-case scenario when it comes to blood clots. I think the minimum amount of time, he was one of those percentages that fit into that category.”

Venables said OU’s medical team worked hard to give Lacey a plan and pathway to return to action, but the harsh reality of the situation is that the coaching staff had to plan for the reality that Lacey may not have been able to return to action.

“For our staff, our mindset was ‘alright, we’ve really got to move on without him and plan on him not being able to make it back to play.’ There’ll be a potential setback,” Venables said. “We certainly didn’t relay that to him. But that’s just part of our responsibility.”

Thankfully for everyone involved, Lacey was able to work on his own to overcome the setback and return to the team.

“He was very aggressive in wanting to come back sooner rather than later,” Venables said. “… To his credit he stayed active in all the right ways. On his own. Did what he could between push ups and things like that. I don’t probably know the half of it. But he stayed fresh and he was at every walkthrough and practice and things of that nature to be around his teammates.

“So I think all those things helped him from a transition standpoint. Getting back into the flow of things where it didn’t take him as long as it potentially could have.”

Six games into the year, Lacey has 10 total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and the sack, and he’s started OU’s last five games at defensive tackle. 

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